Anemia, weight loss, rectal bleeding and fever are NOT symptoms of IBS.

Bowel changes accompanied by these symptoms need to be checked out by a physician to discover the cause.

What Causes the Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

An individual with IBS may experience just a few of these symptoms, or all of them.

For people who suffer symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, pain is
often triggered by eating and may be relieved by a bowel movement.

A major characteristic is fluctuating transit time. When food travels too quickly through the digestive system, it's obvious that it cannot be fully digested. The undigested particles then irritate the gut, causing it to empty suddenly.

Fierce episodes of diarrhea can be followed by a period of intense impasse when in response to excessive bowel activity everything literally comes to a standstill and solidifies - that is, until the next episode of manic movements.

Because
of the pain, diarrhea, nausea and sometimes severe headaches and even
vomiting, a person with IBS symptoms may dread eating.

Even if an individual with IBS eats normally, malnutrition may result because nutrients often are not absorbed properly. As
a result people with IBS require as much as 30% more protein than
normal, as well as an increased intake of minerals and trace elements,
which can quickly be depleted by diarrhoea.

IBS Diagnosis

There is no test for messed-up intestinal contractions, however, and
the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are common to many other
diseases, so arriving at a diagnosis of IBS is lengthy and full of
guesswork.

The diagnosis of IBS is usually made in the absence of other physical evidence of gut disease.

In
fact the condition is thought to be a functional one rather than a
structural or biochemical change in the bowel, because it doesn't cause
permanent damage, it doesn't progress to serious illness, and it can
usually be controlled with diet and lifestyle changes.

So it's
necessary for the doctor to rule out other disorders that can cause
similar symptoms, such as Chron's disease, depression, diverticulitis,
endometriosis, fecal impaction, food poisoning, infectious diarrhea,
ischemic or ulcerative colitis and lactose intolerance.

If there are no other problems, it's IBS by default.

The
next few pages will discuss which healing foods are suitable to prevent
flare-ups and which ones are more likely to cause them. Select one from the list below for your next reading.

Now that you've read the article try to answer these questions:

What symptoms do you experience?

Do you suffer predominantly from diarrhea or constipation, or a combination of both?

Do you suffer any of the conditions mentioned in the note?

Is IBS a functional or structural disorder?

Has your doctor excluded any of the other conditions that could cause similar symptoms?

Recommended reading:

The IBS MiracleHow to Free Your Life from Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Treat IBS naturally, safely and permanently by giving your body what it needs. READ MORE